isaviolinist

My fiancee isn't 'skinny ass' but he is very tall (unlike me, I'm 5'2). He is overweight, but he holds his weight very well and really doesn't look very overweight. Its a different kind of frustration because he can eat whatever and pretty much still look the same, whereas if I eat half a teaspoon of ice cream I gain 5 pounds. However, he is very supportive of my decision to have WLS and has been nothing short of amazing throughout this whole process. The good thing is, we both have weight to lose, and so now we are able to help each other do it. Also, as I am losing weight, I think he is getting motivated to lose weight as well!

The first 3 days or so are def. the hardest. After that, it is not too bad. I had a 3 week pre-op diet. If I can do it, then anyone can. Good luck!

Hi. I was banded on June 18th. I've lost about 12 pounds post-op (plus 20 preop). I'm so happy to never see those 32 pounds again! Anyways, I have a question. I am sure I am overreacting, but I can't feel my port I think. All I can really feel under my big incision is the hard scar tissue. Is it possible that the port has flipped or am I just being so paranoid? I have realize band which has a lower profile port, but I'm so nervous I'm going to go for my fill in a few weeks and the doctor won't be able to find my port. I did the situp/crunch thing that I hear people talking about but I still don't think I can feel it. Anyone else have this experience? If so, did your port actually flip or was it fine? So nervous now! Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

I didn't have any fill at the time of surgery (I have Realize Band). I was banded about 3.5 weeks ago. Since surgery I have lost 10 pounds (most of it came of in the first 2 weeks post-op...not much has happened in the last week or so). Altogether including preop diet, I have dropped 30 pounds. I haven't had any real issues with hunger, but I do get the desire to eat out of habit. I have been trying to stick to under 1000 calories a day (consisting of primarily protein) and have mostly been landing in that range. The next step for me is to begin exercising. My first fill is July 28th and I am really excited. My doctor said he usually begins with anywhere from 3 cc's up to 6 cc's depending on the person I guess. I can't feel my port and Im paranoid it flipped. Im hoping that is not the case...

I did a 3 week pre-op diet haha. I am jealous of those who are only doing a couple days:P Anyways, just wanted to wish good luck to all of those who are having the surgery in the next few days/weeks!

I got a referral (but to be honest, I'm not sure if my insurance actually required it...I didn't have ay problems getting insurance approval) from my primary doctor, and it was basically a hand-written note on his prescription pad saying "Suggest bariatric consultation" or something similar. Not sure if that helps...

I did my pre-op diet for 3 weeks (my surgery was postponed for one week from the original date and I ended up doing a 3 instead of 2 week diet). Anyways, I lost 20 pounds.

I agree. By the way, did you already go to the free information seminar? That is the pretty standard first step for banding (I'm sure there are exceptions but more or less, that is the first thing you do). Generally the hospital or surgeon's office will register you for the seminar and then you can go from there. At the seminar, they go over pretty much everything involved with getting a band, including the need to stop smoking and insurance policies as far as the required 6 month supervised diet (it is only required by some insurances...did you check to see if your insurance requires it?) as well as all of the pre-op testing you'll need. At the seminar you often also get a chance to schedule an initial consultation appointment with the surgeon (although its not always the case). And you are correct about discussing your plan with the surgeon first. When I went in for my initial consultation, we talked about all the options including bypass. I wasn't considering bypass, but if I was and I hadn't met with my surgeon prior to all of the pre-op testing, I wouldn't have known that I am actually NOT a candidate for gastric bypass because of complications with a previous surgery. If I had been aiming for bypass, however, I would have been pretty upset if I went through all of the pre-op testing and then met with surgeon just to find out I was not even eligible to begin with! Sounds like its time to research some different docs.

I don't specifically about drinking something cold, but I know a lot of people have pretty bad gas pain for a few days post-op (but it subsides). For me, I didn't have any shoulder pain (which seems common) but I had REALLY bad pain in my neck (all the way around the whole thing). It was to the point that when I was laying down it felt like I was going to choke. I was concerned about it but it actually went away after 1 day. The gas pain should subside soon. Congrats on your recent surgery!

My surgeon said that I cannot swim (or take baths for that matter) until at least 6 weeks after surgery. The chemicals in pool water can irritate the incisions (which may not be fully healed even if they look okay). He said I could walk on the treadmill at my follow up, one week after my surgery.

I didn't take anything on my pre-op diet. The pre-op diet isn't hard if you don't cheat. Once you discontinue eating carbs after 3-4 days your body stops physically craving them. I think the pre-op diet is really hard for people who cheat and do eat carbs. The more carbs you eat, the more your body craves them. Good luck!

I was banded on June 18th. I guess its been a little over a week and a half since my surgery and in that time I have lost about 9.5 pounds. I also lost 20 pounds on my pre-op diet so altogether almost 30 pounds. The preop diet is great for motivation (because the pounds just start coming off). I have been sticking to post-op very strictly. And I know this time is for healing but I'm recording my intake (calories, fat, carbs, protein). I need to get in more Proteins (only drinking 1-2 shakes a day), but I have been keeping my carbs under 40 a day and calories between 600-800 a day. Good Luck!

Dear Party, Congrats on starting your process for your band! I had a great experience at Temple. I didn't have Meilahn (although I know he is supposed to be excellent), my surgeon was Dr. Soriano who is SO wonderful (I actually brought him a gift at my follow up after my surgery LOL). All of the staff are great. Are you doing the 6 month diet? I didn't have to do it, but I'm sure it is helpful in getting ready for surgery! If you have any specific questions about anything (doctors, the hospital, anything) then let me know. Overall, I had a great experience at Temple and I love my doctor!

Hi everyone! I am crazy for peanut sauce. I love it. I found a low carb recipe for it, but it calls for '1/2 cup creamy Peanut Butter with nothing added'. What is peanut butter with nothing added - what does it mean? If anyone wants the recipe let me know!

I was just wondering, are the protein shakes from Costco whey protein?

Congrats! That is wonderful:) I was also concerned about complications. I had a VERY botched gall bladder surgery 8 or so years ago. I was in the hospital for almost 2 weeks. It was my only experience with surgery, and I was so pleasantly surprised when this surgery, especially recovery, went so well. Remember to sip (as opposed to gulping or drinking fast) and walk walk walk! Good luck!

Hi Loreli, Congrats on taking the first few steps and scheduling a seminar! This website is a great resource. There are so many people on here with great experience (both good and bad) to share. In my experience, the pre-op diet was to shrink my liver for surgery (the liver sits right on top of where they place the band and the need to lift it, and keep it lifted during surgery), to help jump start my weight loss (which it did, I lost 20 pounds preop) and also get me prepared for life after surgery (which it really did...those few days post op of Clear liquids only was not very hard for me). My pre-op diet was supposed to be 2 weeks before surgery. My surgery got postponed and it ended up being 3 weeks. But after the first 4 or 5 days I was used to it and was not obsessing about food that much. An extra week wasn't a big deal and I ended up losing more weight in that last week (and of course, further shrinking the liver). However, the pre-op diets vary by surgeon. Some on here didn't have to do a pre-op diet and some people had a pre-op diet which consisted of low carb meals, etc. My pre-op diet was all liquids (slim-fast, broth, sugar free fat free Jello, crystal light, sugar free applesauce, etc.). When I met with the nutritionist (probably 4-5 weeks before surgery) they outlined some small goals to start working on before the preop diet. It included eating smaller portions, cutting back on sweets, chewing very well etc. I think it never hurts, and is generally helpful, to start changing your eating and lifestyle before you start the pre-op diet. Plus you'll jump start your weightloss which was really encouraging when I did it (it got me through the difficulty of not eating everything that I wanted to). I am almost 7 days post op. The 2nd day post-op I walked 6-7 blocks. I was up and moving the same day. My surgery was at 730am. My surgeon said that if I wanted to go home in the evening that day I could, but if I wanted to stay overnight for one night I also could. I chose to stay overnight. I personally felt more comfortable having IV fluids (I was so dehydrated), IV pain meds and nurses to help if needed. For the first five days post-op I was taking a pain killer just before I went to bed (for me, sleeping and sitting up in the morning are the most painful parts...and even they are not too bad). Last night I didnt take any meds before bed and I was fine. The most irritated part is the incision where the port is. That is the only place that I have discomfort. And its not the incision itself, its the port pulling on my fascia when I move in a particular way. I'm looking forward to that going away. As far as going back to work, I really didn't schedule anything until July 3rd. However, I know many people go back a week later. I think it just depends on your situation and how you feel. Hope this was helpful and good luck!

I also use the cookbook: Eating Well After Weight Loss Surgery. I like it because in the notes to the side of the recipe it specifies how each food is adaptable for all 3 WLS (as far as portion, etc.), and it also specifies how you can adapt the recipe to each stage of eating after surgery.

Hi everyone -- I was just banded yesterday and am doing okay. The pain is completely manageable. I was actually wondering if anyone here was banded with the Realize band? I didn't know that my surgeon was going to use Realize band, but I found out after surgery. I actually wanted the Realize band (I like the 'claws' in the port that hook onto the fascia, and I like the low profile port) but for some reason I remember talking about it with him and deciding on the Lap Band. Anyways, I am not unhappy with the Realize band and I just wanted to see if anyone else was banded with Realize. Im so excited to start this new phase of my life!

Im also a vegetarian (although I do eat fish sometimes). Basically I have a lap band cookbook and I have a bunch of recipes that I like. For the ones that call for meats, I just substitute tofu (and there are so many different kinds of tofu...you can vary it a little). Im only about a week postop so Im not eating eggs or firm tofu but I plan to just cook all the different recipes incorporating a meat substitute. Plus 1-2 protein shakes a day. Should be fine, and varying the recipes will keep it interesting!

I have to agree with RestlessMonkey. I'm sure there are some people who can 'just relax' and be fine, but if your physician gives you a pre-operative instruction, what is the justification for not following it? Coming from a family of physicians, I have learned that in most cases relating to a surgical procedure it is pretty much unacceptable to "just relax" based on the premise that "you'll be fine". Follow the instructions given by your medical provider. Afterall, they did spend 10+ years in school learning the ins and outs of surgery. They're not handing out photocopies of pre-op diets because they think its fun to use the copy machine.